How to Disappear Completely
by RickyandAmy4ever
Summary: Amy is in trouble and has to call Ricky to pick her up.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Secret Life or any of its characters.**

A/N: The title is based off of the song "How to Disappear Completely". Also, sorry I haven't been updating _I Just Want to Love You._ I'll try to get around to it.

Hope you like this story.

**__**

_How to Disappear Completely_

Music blared around me, mostly noises and the notes off-key, but it was to be expected. I was at work at the daycare where I taught kindergarteners how to play music. I stood in my Converse on the hard ceramic floor in the front of the room, around fifteen children across from me in metal chairs.

They'd all been handed out music and were _attempting_ to play it. They had improved and half of the kids were close to playing it right, and I was patient because I knew at their age, the pace they were going at was normal.

One kid in particular, though, I watched with fascination. Her name was Emily and she was the only one who played every note correctly. Her long black hair was tied back, and she was quiet but definitely gifted.

I looked at the clock across the room as I did on long days, and _today_ had been a very long day. Two hours might not seem like a long time, but when you're cramped in a room with kids the hours drag by slowly.

Only one minute left. One minute until I could pick up John from the room across the hall and leave. After that minute was finally up, everyone stood up from their chair and got ready to leave.

Once I was in the car, John in the backseat, I started the ignition and backed out of the driveway and down the road. Today was only Tuesday, but I was ready to get the week over with.

Gossip around school lately had been everywhere this week, and I bet you can already guess what it was about.

Me kissing Ricky had definitely been talked about, but then Adrian and Ben slept together and all was forgotten of what happened between Ricky and me. People also talked about Ricky and me going to mediation because of our custody battle. Shared custody, that was what the mediator decided; Ricky had John on the weekends, I had him on the week days.

I also knew that there was something else going on, at school and at my own home, something Ashley knew. But she wouldn't tell me. Whenever I would ask her, she'd simply reply that she knew nothing. I didn't believe her.

I knew it was something to do with Ben and Adrian. It wasn't hard to guess. Ben had been acting weird at school, Adrian had been acting weird, and they were talking today in the hallway, about what I don't know.

Last weekend we had John's birthday party, and there were also several weddings: Betty and Leo's and Cindy and Ruben's. The birthday party was at the park, and mostly only family was there, except for Madison and Lauren who decided they'd just come anyway although I made it clear they were not invited.

They showed up at the park, pretended they hadn't known about the party, so they ended up staying the whole time, despite the fact I told them only family was invited.

I put my blinker on to turn on the road to my house, but then I turned it off and put the left blinker on instead. Maybe I would go see Jimmy, I decided. I talked to him yesterday morning and he was planning on coming down here. But we needed to talk now.

I was just going to end this whole relationship or whatever we had going on, because the long distance relationship was just not working. I liked Jimmy, yes, but it just wouldn't work out; I knew that and he knew that.

So I turned left and got on the highway. I would only stay a few minutes to talk; he could come sit in my car so I wouldn't have to leave John alone, we'd talk this over, and I would just come right out and say that I couldn't do this anymore.

We didn't even really talk much anyway, I hardly ever saw him, and he wasn't that dedicated to our "relationship", if it was even a relationship at all.

Once I was off the highway, I turned onto a two-lane road that was surrounded completely with trees. It was six thirty in the evening, and it was close to being pitch-black dark. I never liked this road – it was the only way to Palm Springs – especially at night because it felt like such a desolate and ominous road.

And it went on like this for seven or eight miles – dark and surrounded by trees. The road slightly curved to the left the entire time, so it was very easy to swerve off the road if I wasn't paying attention.

I looked at the dashboard and saw that the car was almost on Empty, and I made a reminder to myself to go to a gas station as soon as we got off this road. Actually, I probably should have went before I got on this road, because I wasn't sure I would make it.

_I could always pull over and walk,_ I thought.

I wouldn't want to walk around outside at night, but I realized as I continued driving that because of my ignorance, I might have to do that. The only problem with that, though, would be that I wouldn't know how to put the gas in the car myself.

Maybe I'd ask someone.

I was really starting to worry, because I honestly did not want to get out; the car was flat on Empty now. I had only a few yards left of this road and only a mile away from a gas station, but I wasn't sure what I would do about John.

As much as I dreaded it and worried, to the point that I was actually crying because I didn't know what to do, I decided I would leave John in the car, lock the doors, take the baby monitor, and carry my keys with me in my pocket. If I took him he would definitely not be safe, and he would be safe in the car.

He'd have to be.

I would have to walk really fast and hurry to the gas station. John couldn't be left alone for long, and I really wished I would have went to a gas station prior to my decision to go to Palm Springs.

God, why hadn't I just called Jimmy and broken up with him?

Oh, right, because I wanted to do things the complicated way.

"I'll be right back, John," I told him after I had pulled over on the side of the road when the car went dead. I had two baby monitors in the drawer, and I quickly took them both out and put one on the seat beside John, and the other one I put in my jacket pocket.

I opened my door and stepped onto the street, making sure no cars were coming. I shut my door, double-checked that John was okay, and made sure the doors were locked.

I hurried down the road, practically running, until I finally got past the trees and onto the highway. I walked way over in the grass, knowing that this was so dangerous being next to the highway. But my stupidity had led me to do this.

I walked close to the bushes, darkness surrounding them, not even the moon in view. It was probably blocked by the trees behind me. Above me about twenty feet ahead I could vaguely see three guys walking, hands in pocket, snickering about something.

I couldn't see the gas station yet, but I knew it would soon come into sight. I would have to ran so I could get back to John sooner but I didn't want to get any closer to those men. They didn't seem to be paying any attention to me, so I didn't look at them.

I wrapped my arms around myself and pulled the jacket I was wearing tighter around me. It was a little cold, although it was nearly Spring, but I knew the anxiety of being alone out here was the real reason I felt cold.

I could hear John's soft breathing on the monitor and wished he could hear me so I could tell him it was okay and I wouldn't take long. He mumbled an incoherent word, but he didn't seem like he was scared.

I walked quicker now, jogging, my breath quickening. I tightened my jaw and tried to ignore the car after car rushing to the left side of me on the road. _How could so many people be driving at the same time? _I wondered.

Everything was okay. Everything was okay, I repeated to myself. But evidently I had forgotten. I had forgotten that I wasn't supposed to run or I'd get too close to those guys above me. They were now only ten feet ahead.

I had managed to ignore them and forgot all about them, and I mentally slapped myself for that. I immediately slowed down to a walk, the gas station coming into view now. But it was yards away and I wasn't going to reach it as quickly as I wanted.

"Hey, honey," one of the guys above me said. The three of them had turned around now and were facing me. They chuckled to each other and smirked at me. All I could do was stare at them uneasily.

"Are you lost, baby?" another one asked.

"Why don't we help you find your way?" the first one said, laughing at the second guy, and he returned the grin. They were slowly walking toward me, and I nervously ran a hand through my hair and backed away.

"What – what are you doing?" the third guy asked. He fell over on the guy in the middle but quickly straightened up. He was obviously drunk. They walked closer, the three of them closing in on me, and I froze. I knew I couldn't back up anymore and I couldn't run, in fear that I'd provoke them.

The three of them surrounded me, five feet away from me now. They were close enough that I could see the first guy had a cigarette in his hand. He put it to his mouth and then blew the smoke in my direction. I held my breath. I hated smoke.

My heart was pounding in my chest and in my head, the blood rushing from my pale face. The guy with the cigarette laughed and walked closer to me. I couldn't move. I was lifeless under my skin. He grabbed my arm and I quickly flinched it back.

"Don't be like that," he said. The other two guys were cracking up. He moved even closer to me, inches away from me, and I backed up again. He grabbed for my waist but I dodged him. He blew his smoke again but then dropped his cigarette so he had two free hands. "Why you walkin' in the dark by yourself?" he taunted me. His voice was deep and raspy.

Viciously, he grabbed both of my arms and I tried to fight him off. I backed up and mumbled, "Don't touch me," but that didn't stop him. If anything, it provoked him further. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but my mouth had gone dry.

He reached his hand in his pocket, and I took this as my opportunity to back up again. But then I froze when I watched him withdraw a gun from his pocket and hold it up. "Listen to me," he demanded. "You do exactly what I say, okay?"

I forced myself to nod.

I kept my eyes on the gun, praying he'd put it away. "Walk with me," he instructed, walking toward the dark bushes. I did.

He pushed me into the bushes so there would be no witnesses, and the other guys had disappeared somewhere. I could see nothing until we reached a stump, which was right below the moon. Some light shone, but everything looked like black blurs to me.

My heart continued to pound, and I kicked my foot nervously over the stump. I could feel him standing in front of me, and I wanted nothing more than to be in the car with John or to be safe in my own home. I couldn't hear John over the monitor; he made no sound.

"Take off your clothes," the man directed me, and I hesitated. I let my hands fall to my sides and he glared at me, keeping the gun low. "Do it," he insisted, his voice cold with fury as he raised the gun. "Now."

My hands shaking, I brought them to my chest and unzipped my jacket. I started undoing the buttons of my shirt, and he lowered his gun. I stopped as I had half of the buttons open, and then everything happened quickly.

He put his hand on my shoulder and I fell backwards, hearing the gun drop to the ground, and the pain radiated through my back as I landed on sticks and a stump. I moved away from it, and I struggled to breathe with his weight on top of me. "Please don't," I pleaded, but he ignored me.

He reached his hand under my shirt and laughed, removing it and unclasping my bra. I heard him throw his clothes off, and he moved his hands to my jeans. "Please stop," I tried again. He pulled my jeans off and had his hands on my bare skin and removed the rest of my clothing.

"_Please_," I squeaked, but I knew it was no good.

"Shut up!" he groaned.

He was inside me, and I tried my best to evade the pain that projected through my body, even after having a baby. I could hardly breath and I knew I'd have bruises all over my chest, but that wasn't what I was worried about. "Please," I cried, my voice small and desperate.

He didn't say anything this time.

The tears rolled down my cheeks and simultaneously as he grunted on top of me and I cried, still hopelessly begging him to stop, I heard John's muffled cries on the monitor, wherever it lay on the ground, although he couldn't hear me.

It was as if we were somehow connected and he had sensed that I was in danger. The pain was excruciating; somehow it hurt far worse than my first time. Maybe it was because he was at least two hundred and thirty pounds of muscle on top of me, while I was only one hundred and fifteen pounds.

I groaned from the pain and finally, finally, he stopped and got off of me in a hurry to flee. Then I heard the sound of leaves and grass ruffling as he fled and ran off in the distance. Tears running down my face, I listened to make sure he was gone, and then I got my clothes off the ground and put them back on.

I bawled into my knees, my crying coming out in quiet chokes. The tears blurred my eyes. I felt around on the ground and found the baby monitor; John was still whining, not as much as before. I then found my phone and my hands shook underneath it.

I didn't know what to do; I didn't want to worry my parents. I didn't want them to know I had been on my way to Jimmy's without letting them know and had gotten into trouble. Lauren and Madison were hardly my friends, and had no car. Grace had no car. Adrian I didn't trust, and Ben I wouldn't dare.

I struggled to dial a number as my fingers trembled, and then I put the phone to my ear and tried to calm my crying, but the cries came out anyway, and he would know. The phone rang twice before there was an answer. "Yeah, Amy?"

I couldn't find my voice at first. I cried and finally managed to choke out, "C – Can you come get me?"

There was a brief pause and Ricky's voice immediately changed from nonchalant to concerned. "What's wrong?"

My voice shook as I spoke, and I swore I had never felt so small and hurt in my life. "I'm on the road th – that turns into Palm Springs." I had to pause so I was coherent. "Please come get me."

"I'll be right there," he said immediately. "Are you hurt?"

"_Yes,_" I cried into the phone, but I didn't want him to think I was dying. "I – I'm fine," I assured him, despite the fact that I felt like shit.

"I'm on my way," he said quickly. "Do you want me to stay on the phone with you until I get there?"

"_Yeah_," I forced out, feeling now that I would somehow be okay.


	2. Pain

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Secret Life or any of its characters._**

**_A/N: Just a warning ahead of time: This story's going to be really dark, and Amy's slowly gonna transfer into a different person. You'll find out more about that later. Don't forget to review!_**

* * *

_"I'm on my way," he said quickly. "Do you want me to stay on the phone with you until I get there?"_

_"Yeah," I forced out, feeling now that I would somehow be okay.  
_

Over the phone, I could hear the gratifying sound of his car engine roaring to life. He stayed on the phone with me, as promised, and neither of us said anything. I was relieved that he didn't ask me for more explicit details of what happened and that he didn't yell at me for taking John and heading to Palm Springs.

However, he didn't know John was with me, but I suspected he assumed this.

As much as I tried to stay quiet, I was wailing and sniffling on the phone, moving the phone away at first but then giving up and allowing myself to openly cry even over the phone with him. "Amy, do you want me to call your parents?" Ricky finally said.

I sniffled and hesitated so I could speak. "Please don't," I whimpered.

"Where are you right now?" he asked.

I paused, wanting to tell him that I was on the ground because I was afraid to get up, and I didn't want to lie to him, so I slowly stood up. "Walking to my car," I told him. As soon as I said this, I knew it would bring up the question of why I had gotten out of my car, but he said nothing about it.

I still hadn't moved. I froze where I had stood up, still inside the bushes, and listened to make sure I didn't hear anyone. I heard cars zooming across the highway, crickets chirping somewhere in the woods, and rumbles of thunder.

With only a few minutes after I had realized it was thundering, I felt a raindrop hit the side of my face. It ran down my cheek, mixing with the tears. Despite what I told Ricky, I stayed where I was, sheltered between the trees and bushes.

But after I felt several more raindrops fall, I walked a couple of steps, stopping where the bushes ended and the dark world was exposed to me again. I peered around the last trees in my way, and they were gone. All three of them, before they could have gotten caught or blamed for anything. Gone so they wouldn't be suspects.

From there, I took tiny steps, like I'd been reborn into a baby learning how to walk for the first time, trying to find the courage and the strength to trust they'd have someone or something to fall back on safely just for a push.

But all I had was the ground, the cold, wet ground.

The rain rapidly picked up now, pouring quickly the large raindrops directly from the pitch-black sky. I jumped and gasped when lightning struck, lighting up the sky and the ground and the world around me.

The only other light came from the dimmed street lights yards away from me on the highway. Lightning struck again, and once again I gasped another time. "Are you okay?" Ricky asked. Like a child trying to defy gravity, falling to his knees and clinging to his parents, I quickly jumped back into the bushes and sunk down into the ground.

The rain still reached the ground here, even with the trees covering the sky as far as I could tell. I looked around, petrified, goosebumps rising on my arms from the cold and from the fear, my breath coming out loud and shaky. "Yes," I told Ricky, although I didn't believe it. With my voice cracking, I knew I hadn't sounded very convincing.

There were a few minutes of silence, and I felt almost comforted with him on the other line. But not quite, and my heart hammered into my chest once I heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of me, and gradually it grew louder.

I whimpered softly, backing up with my fingernails firmly pressed down into the muddy ground. It was disgusting, but the only thing my mind focused on was escaping. I backed up quickly, though my body was weak, and once I heard the noise of what sounded like a bottle cap popping I stumbled backwards and ran with all the strength I still had left.

My feet sloshed in the mud, and I was out of breath already. I ran as far as I could get, with my phone still in my left hand but not held up to my ear, until I ran right into a tree and I collapsed beside it.

"Amy?" I heard Ricky say into the phone, but I couldn't reply. I held my breath so I couldn't be heard, but my lungs were burning. I exhaled sharply, trying to catch my breath, but I didn't hear anything else after that.

"Amy?" he repeated into the phone.

"I—I'm o—okay," I choked out.

"I'm almost there," he told me unsteadily. "Where exactly is your car?"

"G – Go down that road, and it's parked a – about a few yards from the highway."

Lightning struck again, and I exhaled loudly and shrilled, burying my head into my knees. "Amy, talk to me," he said desperately, "I'm almost there. It's okay. Are you in your car now?"

It took me a moment before I could answer, and though I knew it was stupid, right then I was worrying about making him mad and that he wouldn't come. Maybe he'd just get to my car and take off with John without getting me.

"N—no," I said hesitantly, hoping he wouldn't be upset I lied to him. "It's raining and lightning. I was … I was going to walk to my car, but I—I got scared. I—I heard something. I'm sorry. I can't –"

"I'm a few miles from the highway," he said.

Tears rolled down my eyes as I worried about his response after what I was about to say. "Please—please don't be mad. But John—John is in the car," I stammered. "The car's dead."

Before he could say anything, a loud roar of thunder bellowed, followed by the raspy and quick bolt of lightning, the rain sheeting down in buckets on top of me, my hair soaking up every bit of it. The rain ran down my back, soaked my clothes, and sent a wet chill through my body.

I felt like I had just been pushed into a swimming pool and once I got out my wet clothes clung tightly to my body.

"Amy, it's okay. You shouldn't be on your phone during this," he said. "I'm here. I'm getting John out of your car—"

"It – it's locked," I interrupted. Surprise washed through me once the realization sunk in that he hadn't once gotten angry with me since we'd been on the phone.

"I'll break the window," he said. "Where exactly are you?"

"In the—the bushes," I said hoarsely. "The woods."

"I'll be right there. Will you be okay until I get there?" he inquired.

"Y—yes," I mumbled in agreement before we both hung up. I could have sworn that right as he hung up I heard the sound of glass being shattered.

I stuck my phone into my front pocket, but I knew my phone would either electrocute me or it'd be ruined. My preference tended to be the first option.

My pocket was soaking wet, the rain soaking inside the pocket and my jeans, seeping down onto my legs. I was shivering, and my body was growing weak and went numb. The air was thick and hard to breathe. I sat there for a long time with my head buried into my knees, until I heard my name faintly being called in the distance.

I flinched, looking up, not sure who was there.

But once I heard that wonderful, dignifying car engine, I knew that I was safe.

"Amy," I could hear my name more clearly now.

I then saw him beat through the bushes, finally locating me. He raced to me and bent down, reaching towards me. I looked up at him through my sodden lashes, and I felt an exhaustion begin to overtake me.

I was almost positive that I was dead.

"Amy," he sighed. "What happened to you..." He was mostly talking to himself now, I know, because he wasn't directing a question at me.

His hand was on my arm as somehow he pulled around a jacket—I couldn't see where it came from—and I realized that this was one of the few times he'd actually touched me. It was an idiocy of a thing for me to be thinking about, but it was on my mind, clouded behind the pain I was feeling, physically and emotionally.

With one hand on my shoulder and another arm draped under my legs, he lifted me, and I fell stiffly into his arms, coughing as the rain slammed into my face. My head automatically fell back, because I didn't have the strength to hold it up.

Ricky ran with seemingly inhuman speed through the bushes, and I could barely see how his hair was drenched, how raindrops were dripping down his forehead.

I could see the sky now, and hear a car door open, and then I was being carefully set down onto the seat. I recognized the smell immediately: the fresh smell of a brand new car. Ricky's car had somehow managed to hold onto that smell, though it wasn't new.

He moved my legs around to where I was sitting upright in the seat, and then my door was shut and he came through his door a few seconds later. He sat down in the driver's side and I noticed that his car had already been started. He'd left it running.

I trembled, my breath quavering loudly and my jaw trembling. And I knew that I shouldn't naturally be shivering, that my body was weakened as an illness was taking over me.

It was hard to keep my eyes open, but I could see Ricky's white hand reach near the radio, but instead he turned on the heat. He headed down the road, and for whatever reason he was speeding. "Why is your car dead?" he asked gently.

My jaw trembling and my numb, fragile body made it hard for me to talk, my voice coming out with difficulty. "I – it ran out of gas," I admitted.

"And you decided you'd walk to the gas station?" he said gently, apparently oblivious to what had happened to me. "You should've called me, or someone. You must have suffered hypothermia ..." He trailed off, taking a look at my face and seeing the fear in my eyes that could not possibly have been caused by hypothermia. Then he asked the question that I knew was bound to be asked but hoped it wouldn't anyway: "What happened?"

"Th – there were three guys," I began, and Ricky looked over at me like he didn't want to hear any more. I knew right then that as soon as I had said that, he already knew. I continued shakily. "And … and one of them had a gun, and he – he told me to follow him, in – into the bushes, and—" I stopped.

I hated for Ricky to even have to look at me.

"Amy... Did he..." Ricky trailed off.

Turning my head toward the window, I reluctantly answered: "Yes." I stared at the vertical downpour of the rain, how the air held a certain stillness and solitude during a thunderstorm, and I watched as the lightning repeatedly lit up the sky, like a million fireflies blowing up among the night sky, and the low rumbles of thunder shook the earth.

The rain beat against the window, falling from the clouds, and I thought about how I just wanted to get lost in them and never have to show my face. My screams echoed in my head, and the evil gangster's face kept flashing in my mind, the scene replaying over and over again.

I tried to keep my gaze fixed on the rain so I wouldn't notice my reflection in the glass window, but it was obvious and the thought stood in the back of my mind. I didn't want to look at myself; all I could see was fear and my shaken figure from earlier while having a gun pointed in my direction.

And then his heated body, hovering over my frozen body, as he manipulated me and I begged him to stop. I wondered if there were others, and I know it was obvious that there had been.

A guy shows up in a pack of three, professionally taking a gun from his pocket and holding it to his prey. It was so easy for him, as if hurting someone was a humorous game to him. And my obvious fear had made it the funnest game ever.

And then him luring me across the field, isolated from anyone, into the desolateness of the bushes. I could feel sore places on my chest, particularly, and down my back where he pushed over on top of me and I landed hard on the ground.

My legs were sore where he had pressed himself against me...

But what did he really look like? I didn't have a clear image of that. I saw what I imagined in my head, because I hadn't gotten a good look at him. The dark made it impossible to see clearly, and he wore a hood as if for disguise, I remember distinctively.

I could only imagine the features in my head from his stone cold voice, the voice that was a constant bell in my ears and his harsh demands screamed repeatedly in my head. I closed my eyes tightly, banging the side of my head against the seat to try to shut it out.

But it wouldn't go away.

I wanted to disappear, right here and right now. I wanted to fall back like an invisible sheet beneath this chair and disappear into thin air. I wanted to bury myself in my back yard, have the chill in the air freeze me to death.

I wanted the previous nonexistent sun to burn my skin, catching me in flames. I wanted the sky to fall on top of me and take me away with it, to be sucked up into a black hole where no one would have to see me.

This was going to be around school within days...I'd be stared at more than I was when I was pregnant. But people would be sorry for me, and that's what I knew I couldn't handle.

I wanted every mirror in the world to shatter so I would never have to look at myself again. I wanted Ricky to take away John and leave before he got caught up in my awfulness. I didn't deserve John. I was stupid enough to leave him alone in the car. What was I thinking?

Right, I never think, because I was selfish.

And it was me who had to suffer from my selfishness, and I know I deserved it. It was fate, it was karma, it was consequence. And I made it for myself.

All I had to do was turn right to my house instead of left for Palm Springs, and I'd be in the safety of my home right now, probably arguing with Ashley or complaining to my father about Ricky having John on the weekends.

Or I'd be reading to John as I got him to go to sleep. That life was centuries ago...

And I realized just then that I had loved it.

The car came to an abrupt halt now, and the silence filled the air as soon as he took out his keys from the ignition. In the darkness surrounding me I could see Ricky staring at me solemnly. "What are you going to say?"

It took me a minute to comprehend what he meant. "Nothing," I whispered.

"What do you want me to do?"

Again, I shook my head and said, "Nothing."

He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger seat, opening the door for me. He waited curiously to see what I was going to do next, but I stayed still. "I can't do it," I cried.

"Come on, Amy," he said softly, reaching for my hand. "Everything's going to be okay."

I let him help me up onto my feet, and he took John out of the backseat, and we headed for my front door, and I watched as Ricky walked beside me slowly, matching my pace.

I turned the doorknob just in case it wasn't locked, and then I walked around the house with Ricky following behind me until I reached the kitchen door. I looked inside the glass, and the lights were still on.

Ricky knocked on the door, and I saw Ashley round the corner and then stop across the room with her eyebrows pulled together. She shook her head and made a beeline towards the door, pulling it quietly open. "Hello, Amy. Ricky.."

She raised an eyebrow when she saw that I wasn't going to respond. I tightened my jaw and refused to look her in the eye. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Ricky.

But he didn't answer her question. "Are your parents home?"

"Of course they're home...," she said curiously. "Is something going on?"

Ricky looked at me for a few seconds but then looked at her. "No, Ashley."

My dad came into the kitchen then and took a long look between Ricky and me. "What's going on, Ames? You're home late..." His eyes were suspicious as he stared at me, my teeth clamped tightly together.

"Ames?" he tried again, peering up through his eyelashes. "Ricky, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing, Mr. Juergens," he replied coldly.

"No, it's something!"

"I'm fine, Dad," I whimpered, and I could feel tears beginning to form in my eyes. I wondered if they could tell I was crying yet.

Ashley eyed me suspiciously, and my dad was dumbfounded. "Where—where's Mom?" I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual. I know I failed at that.

"With Rob," he mumbled, and I wondered when he had started calling Robie 'Rob'. "Were you with Ricky just now?"

"And John," Ricky answered for me, and my dad raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Amy, look at me," my dad said firmly, and I forced myself to look at him. "What's wrong? What happened? I know when something's not right with my little girl...and something's definitely not right."

My mom walked into the kitchen as he said this. "What's going on here?"

"I don't know," my dad said. "Amy won't tell me anything... But they just came home. What is it, Ames?"

"George, did you—" She trailed off, and then I felt my head spin as the four of their voices mixed in together. I couldn't recognize them.

"Amy, are you okay?"

"She's just emotional."

"No she isn't.

"What did he do to her?"

"Nothing!"

"Amy?"

With the four of them staring at me, suddenly the tears fell from my eyes, and I pushed past Ricky and hurried out of the room, not wanting any of them to see me. I didn't want them to think something was wrong with me.

Before reaching the hallway, I heard my mom say: "Did I miss something?"

And then I heard Ashley mumble, "It's probably just PMS."

Little did they know...


End file.
